Is there anything better than the Friday before a long weekend?

I just flew British Airways first class on the way back from London and have a long list of holiday-weekend updates for you.

To start, this weekend would be a great time to dive into my review of the 150,000-point sign-up bonus on one of the most popular credit cards. It's so good I even convinced my mom to pick it up.

One programming note: there won't be a newsletter on Monday. See you back on Wednesday, from yet another new destination.

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… is Marjan Rintel's "biggest headache." And it's about to be yours and mine, too.

Rintel is the CEO of KLM, the airline that just celebrated 80 years of flying to New York. (Fun fact: the first KLM flight to New York took 25 hours, thanks to all the fuel stops along the way.)

Rintel told me her airline is working with Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS) and the border police to switch back to the old manual system during peak periods.

Either way, if your summer plans call for a trip to Europe, check out my free guide to the new immigration system.

My favorite travel backpack just went on a rare sale.

It’s the Away Commuter backpack, and I’ve been using it for two years.

I love that it's both stylish and functional, with plenty of pockets for everything I haul around.

Many other popular Away picks are also discounted by up to 25%, including the Bigger Carry-On and Featherlight Overnight Bag.

British Airways first class is about to get a major upgrade, and it looks great. Until then, we're still stuck with the old product.

It's not nearly as good as European rivals Air France or Lufthansa, but it's still a noticeable step up from Club World business class (even without sliding doors).

Perhaps the best part of BA first is how easy it is to book with points.

Yes, you'll be on the hook for pricey taxes and surcharges, but it's far cheaper than paying cash, and there's decent last-minute availability.

There are tons of ways to book it — American AAdvantage miles, Alaska Atmos points, and Qantas points among them — but I used BA's Avios program.

First, I recently topped up my Avios account with Bilt points, transferred at a 75% bonus.

Then, because I booked an off-peak date, BA charged me just 75,000 points and $765.87 in fees.

The craziest part? Business was going for 99,000 points and $410, which made first class the better deal in my book.

I got home, and the first ad I saw was for the Apple Card's limited-time sign-up bonus.

For once, it's actually a compelling offer for a simple, no-annual-fee card.

The deal: earn back the cost of AirPods Pro 3, up to $250 in total Bonus Daily Cash. You need to get an Apple Card and buy the AirPods at Apple by June 15.

Then, starting July 1, you need to make 10 or more transactions each month to earn $25 in Bonus Daily Cash through April 30, 2027.

Convoluted, yes. But I bet they'll get plenty of takers.

No one ever called London Heathrow their favorite airport — unless they're a Oneworld Emerald member.

For the uninitiated, Oneworld is one of the big three airline alliances, and it includes behemoths like British Airways and American Airlines.

You can earn and redeem miles across partners, but the real reason Oneworld is the most premium alliance is that top-tier elites from any member airline can access first-class lounges when traveling internationally.

And no airport terminal has a better assortment of Oneworld lounges than Heathrow's Terminal 3. I'm partial to the Cathay Pacific and Qantas lounges, but the American and BA offerings are solid as well.

Oneworld is celebrating that 14 of its 15 member airlines now fly to Heathrow.

I was recently searching flights from Florida to New York and saw something wild.

The economy fare was $239. That’s steep, but it was also the going rate on every airline for a last-minute ticket.

Then I got to the seat map, and my jaw dropped: JetBlue was charging $179 for an extra-legroom EvenMore seat. Nearly as much as the fare itself.

Yet another reason I miss Spirit and its Big Front Seat.

The fastest way through security isn't Clear or TSA PreCheck.

It's Touchless ID. I've written extensively about how it works (and one big caveat to the program), but I bet you didn't know your Touchless ID enrollment expires after 12 months, at least on American.

American is the only airline that publishes an expiration date, and it sends email reminders before your enrollment lapses.

No other carrier lists one, so it's unclear whether this is an American quirk or an industry-wide rule that everyone else just doesn't advertise.

Either way, it pays to check your enrollment settings in your frequent flyer account before you get stuck waiting in line.

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